Grabbing the binoculars, I can see the leaders on the backstretch in the race for national sports story of the year.
It’s only July, but I’ve got American Pharoah to win, the United States women’s soccer team to place, and golfer Jordan Spieth to show. NBA Most Valuable Player Seth Curry is a few lengths back, but I expect him to fade like Ole Miss and Mississippi State did in football last year.
An animal for sports story of the year?
Sure, why not? Horses are animals for certain, but competitors as well. The top thoroughbreds train like any athlete and I’ve seen their fighting spirit up close many times while standing near the finish line at Oaklawn Park. They’ll run themselves to death to win and they’ll do so with the weight of a saddle and jockey on their back.
Put a saddle and rider on Adrian Peterson and see how far he gets.
American Pharoah burst onto the scene in the spring by winning the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, but that doesn’t make him an Arkansas horse as some have suggested. The horse spent as much time in Hot Springs as I did in Minneapolis, Minn., after missing a flight, but that doesn’t make me a Minnesotan.
American Pharoah captured the attention of the nation and won the hearts of thousands when he became the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 37 years. I was particularly impressed with American Pharoah in the Preakness, when he grabbed an early lead and outran his competitors on a muddy track. He then completed the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes when he won again against some horses who had the advantage of added rest.
If you’re wondering how difficult it is to win the Triple Crown, be advised that only 12 horses have done it since Sir Barton won the Triple Crown in 1919. Fifty-two horses have won two of the three races and 289 have won a single leg of the Triple Crown.
American Pharoah can strengthen his bid for sports story of the year if he does well at the Haskell Invitational in August and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in October. The U.S. women’s soccer team will get some votes after winning the World Cup for the first time since 1999. The women won the title in dominating fashion by beating Japan 5-2.
Spieth, 21, will receive heavy consideration for sports story of the year after winning The Masters and U.S. Open. He’ll surpass them all if he completes the grand slam by winning the British Open and PGA Championship.
Other top contenders will emerge, especially with the World Series and football season that is fast approaching. Arkansas football will jump into contention if it wins the national championship, but that’s about as likely as Gentlemen’s Quarterly magazine asking me to appear on their cover. I’m no gentleman and I dress up only quarterly, so that’s not going to happen. But the race for sports story of the year is much more appealing than in 2014 when social issues dominated the field.
The Associated Press chose the domestic violence issue, sparked by a video of Ray Rice knocking his girlfriend unconscious, as the No. 1 sports story of the year for 2014. Donald Sterling’s expulsion from the NBA finished second and gay athletes coming out (Jason Collins and Michael Sam) was selected as the fourth biggest sports story by the AP.
Hopefully, the transformation of a former Olympic athlete to a woman named Caitlyn won’t gain much attention in the voting this year. I’ll be thrilled as well if stories about DeflateGate, Aaron Hernandez, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao cease to exist.
So, who’s on your list for national sports story of the year?
My money’s still on American Pharoah. But it’s too early to cash a ticket, especially if the Cubs come back and win the World Series.
Rick Fires can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARick.